Diana Dias

Democratização do acesso e do sucesso no ensino superior: uma reflexão a partir das realidades de Portugal e do Brasil

Associa-se frequentemente o termo “massificacao” do ensino superior a democratizacao de seu acesso por parte de alunos provenientes das camadas sociais e culturais menos favorecidas e com menor tradicao familiar de formacao academica superior. Neste artigo, pretende-se discutir, com base na analise de alguns indicadores da forte expansao ocorrida nos sistemas de ensino superior de Portugal e do Brasil nas ultimas decadas, a efetiva democratizacao ocorrida. Varios pontos desse crescimento exponencial e alguns mecanismos de regulacao criados, entretanto, permitem que se afirme que o ensino superior se abriu na realidade a estratos sociais e a publicos menos tradicionais neste nivel de ensino; contudo, permanecem acentuadas assimetrias sociais nas instituicoes e nos cursos a que se tem acesso, ao mesmo tempo em que a permanencia e abandono tambem se diferenciam socialmente em termos das respectivas taxas de incidencia. Estes fenomenos tem causas diversas, nao sendo possivel ilibar as proprias instituicoes de ensino superior de responsabilidades nesse cenario.

The EUA Institutional Evaluation Programme: an account of institutional best practices

When evaluating the EUA Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP), Nilsson et al. emphasised the interest in creating a data bank on good practices derived from its reports that would contribute to disseminating examples of effective quality management practices and to supporting mutual learning among universities. In IEP, evaluated institutions present a SWOT analysis that is examined by the external reviewers. This article identifies and systematises the strengths identified by external evaluators, related to good management practices, which may contribute to the data bank. The paper also suggests that the IEP reports present a set of strengths that define a certain type of university, namely a centralised institution, with strong leadership, well-defined strategic management practices, capacity to change and an institutional identity and culture promoting its worldwide competitiveness. Along with other prioritised characteristics the IEP process potentially contributes to convergence towards a more uniform European higher education model. The analysis of the strengths identified by reviewers does not show a significant regional influence.

Initiation rituals in university as lever for group cohesion

The ‘initiation rituals’ of new students in Portuguese Higher Education are viewed as a lever for group cohesion. Using the group dynamics perspective as a theoretical view, this paper reflects on hazing as an initiation ritual that supports and maintains groups by encouraging cognitive, behavioural and emotional processes of social dependency. For the empirical data analysis, a qualitative methodology was chosen, using the students’ spontaneous discourses about their academic integration. The results point to the diversity of freshmen perspectives on and experiences of hazing: either rejecting or subscribing, no student seems indifferent to it. Hazing can work as a positive catalyst to the construction of statutory identity. Furthermore, the relationship of submission which underlies these transition rituals is experienced by freshmen as a ‘price to pay’ for their entrance in the university world.

Transition to higher education: the role of initiation practices

Background: Literature draws attention to the relationships between the initial experiences of students as they begin their higher education and how they fare subsequently. In Portugal, the new student’s reception is ritualised by tradition, and involves the organisation of an entire integration ceremony (known as praxe) proposed by peers. This paper argues that initiation practices in Portuguese higher education can be regarded as a transition ritual, a group of symbolic activities that brand the shift from secondary to tertiary education. Purpose: This paper aims to analyse students’ observations about initiation practices within this framework. Sample: Participants were 30 first-year undergraduate students (‘freshmen’) attending a Portuguese university. Design and methods: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the students. Qualitative analysis was undertaken. Transcripts were coded according to themes and analysed using a constant comparison approach, to allow for the emergence of categories. Findings: The findings from this small-scale investigation describe and categorise freshmen’s experiences and perspectives on initiation practices. Both positive and negative perspectives about praxe were identified. Conclusions: The submission relationship that underlies these transition rituals tended to be regarded by first-year students as an inevitable and necessary ‘price to pay’ for their entrance in the academic world.

From High School to University: Students' Competences Recycled.

The process of transition from high school to higher education might be viewed as a continuum of learning new codes of conduct that guide the exercise of a (re)new(ed) student craft. This article presents a qualitative analysis of the results of interviews conducted with students, focusing on the need for students to trigger a set of adaptive skills to a new and dynamic environment, using their ‘old’ pupil competences acquired in high school and recycling them to cope with this life challenge. The study concludes that transition to higher education is perceived by students as a hard challenge, implying a learning of a renewed student craft, which requires learning new codes that brand intellectual and social life. The transition is made from the pupil’s craft to the student’s craft, but there is also a social promotion from the school culture to the academic culture.

Portugal: Dimensions of Academic Job Satisfaction

Portugal has a binary system of universities and polytechnics and, within that, public and private institutions. This provides a diverse background against which to examine academic staff job satisfaction, starting with the fact that only universities can award PhDs, and the different legal framework of academic careers between public and private institutions. The analysis of personal characteristics, affiliation, commitment and careers trajectory of the Portuguese academics showed a range of similarities and differences, but many results were consistent with the opinions of academics in other countries.

Teaching and Research: Perspectives from Portugal

This chapter aims at analysing the Portuguese academics’ perceptions regarding the relationship between research and teaching within the academic work division. This relationship has been always considered as the main structural component of the social division of academic work and academic knowledge epistemologies. In the last decade, this relationship has been challenged by the introduction of market and ‘hard’ managerial rationality in the Portuguese higher education landscape. Based on data analysis from the international ‘Changing Academic Profession’ (CAP) survey, this chapter tries to address theoretically and empirically the way Portuguese academics are facing this new institutional environment.

The Faculty Conjugated as Feminine: A Portrait of Portuguese Academia.

Portuguese higher education is changing, with a significant impact on academic careers, reinforcing the academic ‘estate’. The focus of this paper is the analysis not only of the gender differences per se, but it also relates them to other variables such as the higher education subsystem, career positioning, the sociocultural background and having children. The main findings show that there are some effective gender differences in the Portuguese academic career. Women are still less represented in academia. The gender gap tends to accentuate significantly at the top of the career structure, where there is a clear advantage to male academics. Concerning the sociocultural background of academics, most are the first generation in their families to reach higher education. Moreover, academics tend to raise families with spouses from the same educational level. Summing up, the Portuguese higher education system still has a long way to go before perfect equity is attained

Working with cancer: motivation and job satisfaction

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the motivational factors to work with cancer patients, their repercussions in job satisfaction among Portuguese healthcare professionals and to understand the role of sociodemographic and occupational variables in motivation and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach An instrument based on Maslow’s and Herzberg’s theories and developed by Paleologou et al. (2006) was applied to four categories of healthcare professionals. This instrument comprises four work-related motivators (remuneration, achievements, coworkers and job attributes) and a single-item question about job satisfaction. In total, 400 healthcare professionals in a Portuguese oncology hospital participated in this study. Findings Job satisfaction was positively and significantly associated with all motivational factors. Qualifications predicted all motivational factors, although the motivator “coworkers” was also influenced by age. Originality/value Motivation and job satisfaction are related, and some studies investigate the relation between them. However, these constructs are not sufficiently studied among healthcare professionals in oncology hospitals. This study shows that motivational factors to work in a cancer hospital are critical for job satisfaction among healthcare professionals. Moreover, qualifications predicted all motivational factors in this context.

Civic learning outcomes: a step towards an inclusive higher education

ABSTRACT An inclusive education goes beyond the acquisition of discipline knowledge or skills. Inclusion is concerned with the participation and integration of all students (regardless of their intrinsic characteristics), helping them to develop civic competences. Civic and democratic values, equality and social justice became critical dimensions in this broader concept of education. This paper argues that the incorporation of civic dimensions, such as civic knowledge, civic skills or civic values in academic curricula could be an effective step towards more inclusive education. Specifically, this work intends to explore what civic dimensions are emphasised as a learning outcome in Portuguese higher education programmes. Adopting a qualitative methodology, typologies and incidence of civic learning outcomes were analysed and compared across three academic levels (first, second and third study cycles). The results provide a better understanding of what civic dimensions are stressed by institutions. All types of civic learning outcomes have been reinforced, defining civic values, civic skills and civic knowledge as expectable learning results. Both civic values and skills are well represented while civic knowledge is the less mentioned category. The enforcement of such civic dimensions is a valuable approach to enhancing education as a collective societal endeavour and as a common good.